1993–1999: Early career Coolidge made her first television appearance in the November 1993
Seinfeld episode "
The Masseuse". In 1994, she was a regular on
She TV, a short-lived
sketch comedy that also featured
Nick Bakay,
Elon Gold,
Simbi Khali, and
Linda Kash. She had small roles appearing in such films as
Not of This Earth,
A Bucket of Blood,
Plump Fiction, and
A Night at the Roxbury. She also voiced
Luanne's beauty school teacher, Miss Kremzer, in a recurring role on
King of the Hill. She worked with
The Groundlings, an improv and sketch comedy troupe based in
Los Angeles. In June 1995, Coolidge unsuccessfully auditioned for
Saturday Night Live.
1999–2006: Film breakthrough In 1999, Coolidge got her big break playing
Jeanine Stifler, or "
Stifler's mom" in
American Pie. The film was a box-office hit and grossed $235 million worldwide. In 2001, she reprised her role in
American Pie 2. Later in that same year, she had a supporting role in
Legally Blonde as Paulette Bonafonté Parcelle the manicurist.
Legally Blonde was a box-office hit, grossing US$96 million domestically. The film's box-office success led to her reprising the role in its 2003 sequel,
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, but the movie was not as financially successful as the first and generated mostly negative reviews. In 2003, she again played Stifler's Mom in
American Wedding. In 2003, she played the protagonist's agent Luise in
Testosterone filmed in Argentina starring
David Sutcliffe as Dean Seagrave and
Antonio Sabato, Jr., as Pablo. In 2004, she had a supporting role in the romantic comedy
A Cinderella Story playing
Hilary Duff's character's vain, self-absorbed stepmother. The film went on to become a moderate box office hit despite negative critical reviews. She has appeared in 2001 on
Frasier as Frederica,
Martin Crane's new physical therapist, in 2003–2004 in 3 episodes of
According to Jim, playing Roxanne, Jim's sister, and in 2003 in an episode of
Sex and the City. Coolidge nearly received the role of
Lynette Scavo on
Desperate Housewives, but it eventually went to
Felicity Huffman. In 2003, she starred in an episode of
Friends in its final season as Amanda, an obnoxious acquaintance whom
Phoebe Buffay and
Monica Geller try to shake off. From 2004 to 2006, Coolidge had a role in the NBC comedy series
Joey as
Joey Tribbiani's oversexed agent Roberta "Bobbie" Morganstern. During its second season, she went from a recurring character to a more prominent role, appearing in 37 out of 46 episodes in the series. NBC officially canceled the series in May 2006, citing low ratings. Coolidge also appeared in 1998 in the children's comedy
Slappy and the Stinkers, and as the voice of Aunt Fanny in the animated feature
Robots in 2005. The film was accompanied by an original short animated film based on
Robots, titled ''
Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty, in which she reprised her role. In late 2005, Coolidge was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. From 2000 to 2006 she played comic parts in the improv mockumentaries Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration'', all directed by
Christopher Guest.
2006–2011: Television roles In 2006, she guest starred on an episode of
Top Chef, and played
Adam Sandler's wife's friend, Janine, in the comedy film
Click. She appeared in the 2006 film
Date Movie as a spoof of
Barbra Streisand's
Meet the Fockers character. The film received unfavorable critic reviews and
Rotten Tomatoes ranked the film 77th in the 100 worst reviewed films of the 2000s, with a rating of 6%. However,
Variety did praise Coolidge for providing a few bright moments with a spot-on spoof of Streisand, albeit otherwise unimpressed describing the film as "padded and repetitious".
Epic Movie, released in 2007 and made by the same people behind
Date Movie, was the first movie in which she received a starring role. In the film she played the "White Bitch" (the
White Witch) of Gnarnia (
Narnia), a lampoon of the
Disney and
Walden Media film
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
A. O. Scott of
The New York Times called the film "irreverent and also appreciative, dragging its satiric prey down to the lowest pop-cultural denominator" and added, "The humor is coarse and occasionally funny. The archly bombastic score ... is the only thing you might call witty. But happily, Jennifer Coolidge and Fred Willard show up ... to add some easy, demented class." During 2007, Coolidge appeared on ''
Thank God You're Here and The Closer, on TNT. In 2008, she guest-starred on The Secret Life of the American Teenager'' as a
call girl. In 2009, Coolidge took a dramatic role in
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans as Genevieve McDonagh. The
film premiered on September 9, 2009, at the
66th Venice International Film Festival, and it opened in general release in the United States on November 20, 2009. Also In 2009, she starred alongside
Heather Graham and
Amber Heard in
ExTerminators, a
black comedy about a set of women who form their own "silent revolution", wreaking havoc on the abusive men in their lives. In 2010, Coolidge appeared in another film starring
Hilary Duff titled
Beauty & the Briefcase, an
ABC Family television film produced by
Image Entertainment that originally aired on April 18, 2010. It was based on the novel
Diary of a Working Girl by Daniella Brodsky. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the US on February 8, 2011.
2011–2019: 2 Broke Girls and stand-up comedy In June 2011, Coolidge curated a
Blake Nelson Boyd art show in
New Orleans. In the same month Coolidge began to do standup comedy. She hosted the "Women in Film" at the
Beverly Hills Hotel. It went well, and she decided to take an act on the road. Coolidge ended up doing shows all over the world for two years, Scotland included. Coolidge told Australian radio show
The Kyle & Jackie O Show that she would be touring Australia as part of her
Yours for the Night stand-up tour. In October 2011, Coolidge began a recurring role in the
CBS sitcom
2 Broke Girls as Zofia "Sophie" Kaczyński, a Polish neighbor of the two lead characters; she was later promoted to main cast from
season 2 up until the show's cancellation in 2017. Coolidge reprised her role as Jeanine Stifler in an
American Pie sequel
American Reunion which opened in North America on April 6, 2012. The following year, additional voice cast members were announced for
B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations, including Coolidge as Carol Sue, a transitions-relations officer. Film distributor
20th Century Fox set November 6, 2015, for the film's release date (which was moved a few months later up to September 25), However,
Los Angeles Times reported in 2014 that the film had been delayed again with no replacement release date set. It was reported the film's concept has gone back to development. Coolidge and actress
Megan Mullally joined the cast of
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day in 2013; Coolidge plays Ms. Suggs, the driving instructor. The film was released in North America on October 10, 2014. The next year, she had a voice role in
Hell and Back, and had a cameo in
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip. In 2016, she appeared in
Mascots, directed by Christopher Guest. In 2018, Coolidge made an appearance in
Ariana Grande's music video for her song "
Thank U, Next", which brought her renewed recognition.
2020–present: The White Lotus and continued film roles In 2020, she starred in
Like a Boss, the first studio comedy film of the 2020s, for
Paramount Pictures, co-starring with
Tiffany Haddish,
Rose Byrne, and
Salma Hayek. Coolidge had a supporting role in
Emerald Fennell's directorial debut
Promising Young Woman as the mother of
Carey Mulligan's character, Cassie. The movie received universal acclaim upon release. In October 2020, Coolidge was cast as Tanya McQuoid, a troubled wealthy woman on vacation, in
Mike White's comedy-drama series
The White Lotus and began filming shortly after in Hawaii. The show premiered in July 2021 and was widely acclaimed, with Daniel D'Addario of
Variety calling it the "role of a lifetime" and deeming Coolidge a "Hollywood MVP". She won a
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her performance. Coolidge reprised her role for the
second season, and received a second Emmy Award for
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for the role at the
75th Emmy Awards. In 2021, Coolidge starred in the
Netflix Christmas romantic comedy
Single All the Way alongside
Michael Urie,
Philemon Chambers, and
Kathy Najimy. The following year, she starred in
Netflix's mini-series
The Watcher along with
Naomi Watts and
Bobby Cannavale. In 2024, Coolidge starred in and executive produced
Dito Montiel's comedy film
Riff Raff. She told
Forbes that, when she was offered the role, "I've never been offered a part like her. […] There's a certain woman that I've played quite a few times - some sort of rich, spoiled woman or something, but this was something very different. This was someone who had a pretty decent beginning of her life, but ended up not desired by her ex-husband anymore and very lost." == Public image ==